Mayor McKinley Price said it didn't need to be on the agenda because it's not the public's role to evaluate the city manager. That's the job of the mayor and City Council, Price told me.

The Newport News school board, after undergoing similar criticism over the way it handled a 10 percent wage increase for Superintendent Ashby Kilgore, promised that in the future the superintendent's pay raise would be on the agenda, so that people could see it a few days before the meeting.

Traditionally, the city manager earns more than the schools superintendent, so this will be a first that the schools leader earns more. We'll see if that changes in future years.

Councilman Joe Whitaker made the motion for Morgan's contract, and all seven board members voted in favor of the 4 percent increase.